![]() His first win came in 1959 when, driving an F-Modified Porsche RS, he beat the competition at the SCCA Regional at Lime Rock, Connecticut. After consistently running behind the leader, his car eventually overheated, and Penske had to withdraw from the race. In 1958 he entered his first official race in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) National at Marlboro Motor Raceway in Maryland. RACE-CAR LEGENDĪlmost from the start, racing cars was an obsession for Penske, who first drove at the Akron (Ohio) Speedway. Finding early in life what he liked to do, Penske was able to seize on opportunities that led him to legendary status as a race-car driver and, later, helped him accumulate a transportation empire, record setting racing teams, and a successful truck-leasing company. The experiences learned from these early ventures became the hallmark for Penske's later successes in the automobile world, both as a race-car driver and as a transportation businessman. ![]() Over the next 10 years, Penske raced and sold 32 cars, among them a Chevrolet, Corvette, Jaguar Cooper, Maserati, MG TD, MG TC, Olds mobile, Porsche, and the Zerex Special. As a teenager in the 1950s, he would buy "junker" cars, make repairs on them, and sell them at a profit from his parents' home in suburban Cleveland, Ohio. A KNACK WITH CARSĮven from an early age, Penske had a knack for fixing auto mobiles. After retiring from driving, Penske became one of the most successful and best-known car and track owners in the history of motor sports. Basing his achievement on his stringent guidelines for setting goals, Penske made race-car driving an obsession that eventually earned him a driving record held by only a few talented drivers. Penske discovered his niche in life early, when, as a teenager, he began refurbishing and racing cars and selling them for profit. ![]() Penske was the chairman of the board and chief executive officer (CEO) of Penske Corporation, which he founded in 1969. ■ In 2004 the transportation executive and auto-racing legend Roger S. Chairman of the board and chief executive officer, Penske Corporation and its subsidiary, United Auto Groupīorn: February 20, 1937, in Shaker Heights, Ohio.įamily: Son of Jay (vice president of metal fabrication company) and Martha (housewife and community volunteer) married Kathryn children: five.Ĭareer: Alcoa Aluminum, 1959 –1963, sales engineer George McKean Chevrolet, 1963 –1965, general manager and, later, owner 1965 –1969, owner of several automobile dealerships, a truck-leasing operation, and two racing-tire distributors Penske Corporation, 1969 –, president and CEO United Auto Group, 1999 –, chairman and CEO.Īwards: Named SCCA Driver of the Year, Sports Illustrated, 1961 named Driver of the Year, New York Times, 1962.Īddress: Penske Corporation, 8801 North Haggarty Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48107 United Auto Group, 2555 Telegraph Road, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48302-0954. ![]()
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